Ubuntu
gnome-utils package

dictd does not look up local dictionaries

Asked by Robert Holm

I have installed dict, dictd, dict-gcide and dictzip on Dapper.

When I try to look up a word I get the messge "Lookup failed for host 'dict.org': unknown error. Obviously if I am on line it looks it up on line but am I incorrect in assuming that if the dictionary packages have been installed the lookup should be from the local files? Is there something else I should have done?

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Ubuntu gnome-utils Edit question
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williamts99
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Best williamts99 (williamts99) said : 		#1

If you open the dictionary and press F1 or you can go to the Help menu item and choose contents. In there it describes exactly how to add/change/remove dictionary servers. Also be sure to read the package descriptions for the packages you have installed.

Best Regards,
Williamts99

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Robert Holm (robhh) said : 		#2

williamts99 proposed the following answer:
If you open the dictionary and press F1 or you can go to the Help menu
item and choose contents. In there it describes exactly how to
add/change/remove dictionary servers. Also be sure to read the package
descriptions for the packages you have installed.

Thank you for your reply. I have read the help file, the man pages
and the Debian readme file in usr/share/doc, but I am floundering
around in the dark. The help file says to change the transport type
but offers no help in deciding what that means or what it might be.
The attributes of the new source need to be edited but how do I
establish what these should be? If I am using local dictionary files,
do I leave the "Port" blank?

The help file assumes a level of knowledge that I don't have. I have
tried many different combinations of entries in the various fields
but still get "lookup failed for host xxxxxx".

Any further help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards

Robert Holm

Revision history for this message
Robert Holm (robhh) said : 		#3

Thanks for the help. After stumbling around for a while I tripped over the correct information.

Revision history for this message
williamts99 (williamts99) said : 		#4

Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier, had a night out on the town. Glad to hear that you got it working though, and thank your for marking your request as solved. Could you comment on what it was that you were missing so as to help out anyone that finds this support request through a search.

Best Regards,
Williamts99

Revision history for this message
Robert Holm (robhh) said : 		#5

On Sun, 2007-02-25 at 22:39 +0000, williamts99 wrote:
> Your support request #3909 on gnome-utils in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-utils/+ticket/3909
>
> .williamts99 posted a new comment:
> Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier, had a night out on the town.
> Glad to hear that you got it working though, and thank your for marking
> your request as solved. Could you comment on what it was that you were
> missing so as to help out anyone that finds this support request through
> a search.
>
 What I didn't understand was that I had to enter "localhost" as
the host name in place of "dict.org",and that I should blank the
port entry. I eventually twigged this while reading through the
config file. I did not even know that localhost existed! Perhaps
it would help future beginners if that info was incorporated in
the dictionary help file. (But battling with a problem like this
is a good learning tool!)

Thanks again and best regards

Robert Holm
>